Target shooter charged after bullet hits home

Object narrowly missed striking a five-year-old girl

KENSINGTON — The mother of two children who were in their dining room when a stray bullet from a neighbor who was target shooting narrowly missed them says she wants the incident to serve as a warning.

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By Jason Schreiber

seacoastonline.com

By Jason Schreiber

Posted May. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Jason Schreiber
Posted May. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

KENSINGTON — The mother of two children who were in their dining room when a stray bullet from a neighbor who was target shooting narrowly missed them says she wants the incident to serve as a warning.

"I hope this is a cautionary tale for people who do stuff in the range of other homes. You have to make sure all proper precautions are taken. This really could have ended badly in a lot of ways," she said.

The mother, who asked that her name not be used, is still shaken by the shooting incident on April 22 that shattered a dining room window just after her family finished their dinner.

Her five-year-old daughter, who was playing with guinea pigs, and 10-year-old son were both in the dining room near the window when the family at 4 Stumpfield Road heard the bullet that police said came from neighbor Ronald Winfield.

Winfield, 66, of 7 Muddy Pond Road, turned himself in to police Thursday on a charge of negligent discharge of a firearm.

Police Sgt. Scott Sanders said Winfield was shooting at paper targets held on a holder with a 9 mm handgun but had no backstop to prevent bullets from leaving his property.

Winfield was shooting about 856 feet away from the neighbor's residence at the time.

"He thought there were enough woods so the bullets wouldn't travel far. It could have had a catastrophic outcome, but luckily it didn't," Sanders said.

The mother said she's relieved that everyone is OK.

"It all happened so quickly. All of a sudden there was this explosion of glass and I thought maybe the chandelier had exploded," she said.

Her husband ordered the family into the basement, so she picked up her daughter and they fled down the stairs.

"We thought the basement would be more secure," she said.

The family continued hearing shots, but it appears only one hit the bay window in the dining room.

"There were more shots, but they didn't seem as close," the mother said.

Glass shattered throughout the room and landed on both children. The girl suffered a minor cut on her foot.

Police quickly determined that the shot came from Winfield's residence soon after the incident, Sanders said.

"He has been cooperative with us throughout the entire process," Sanders said.

The mother said Winfield "definitely made some mistakes, but he completely owned up to it," she said, adding that he promised not to shoot in that area again.

Winfield reached out to the family and agreed to take care of the property damage, Sanders said.

"The victims felt that was a good resolution based on the facts and we felt comfortable with that as well," Sanders said.

Sanders said the incident should be a reminder about the importance of safe shooting and having a backstop.

"We don't want to discourage anybody from shooting on their property, but we need to make sure people are employing good safe firearms tactics and they're accountable for every round that's discharged," Sanders said.

Winfield will be arraigned on the class B misdemeanor charge on June 12 at 8 a.m. in the Brentwood Circuit Court.